A brand new, outdoor puppetry-themed event helped expand the audience, literally and figuratively, this summer for Stratford Summer Music.
The World in a Weekend event brought as many as 9,000 people through the Festival City during the first weekend of August, when SpringWorks PuppetWorks presented its diverse lineup of puppetry.
Combined with their traditional lineup of world-class music, Stratford Summer Music was able to grow holistically – adding a younger generation, more families, even seniors whose interest was piqued.
“It was a lot but it was such a great event, really well worth doing,” Kendra Fry, general manager of Stratford Summer Music said about World in a Weekend.
“It was a great experience and the quality of the experience was really holistic and lovely. There were seniors that sat under umbrellas all day watching the world go by, there were kids playing in the kids play area. I saw one guy go by holding six puppets in his fingers that kids had made.”
Because it was the first year of the partnership, organizers took a lot of mental notes. The synergy between live musical performance and the various puppetry shows was a good one, Fry said, and people showed up despite intense heat over the Civic Holiday weekend.
“We had a lot of feedback, people realized it wasn’t just for kids. It was a good combination with the music. That was the point, what we call bight-size adjacency art – you don’t have to go for one thing, you can dive in and out of it.”
Fry said overall the season went well, as they navigated a ‘quasi-COVID environment’ with indoor and outdoor performances. Stratford Perth Museum and Gallery Stratford were solidified as venues this year and acts returned to Factory 163. The Avondale was able to handle performances with more than a dozen performers on stage, as bigger ensembles returned to the Stratford Summer Music lineup. Fry said children’s programming picked up this year and shows at the Revival House sold out completely.
“Next year we will have some different concerts, different musicians, different bands,” Fry said, careful not to provide too much information. “There is potential for some big collaborations.”
The World in a Weekend event is definitely returning, she said.
Fry did say Stratford Summer Music will end in mid-August again in 2023.
“It was a great year, we built a new audience.”
There is one big event yet to go, however. Stratford Summer Music’s fundraiser, Fiddles and Foodtrucks, is being held on Thursday at 75 Kelly’s Lane. Musical guest are The Fretless, a Juno award winning Canadian folk music group.
Fry said tickets were selling quickly and only a few were left. You can purchase tickets here: https://stratfordsummermusic.ca/event/fiddles-and-food-trucks-with-the-fretless/
